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Saturday, July 12, 2014

I wrote 3 books (Volume 1) in the Endless American Dream series last year. I originally planned to release them immediately, but now I decided I'm going to wait.

I want to get Volume 2 done and Volume 3 almost done then I'll release Volume 1. I'll do my original plan (one book at a time, or buy the volume and get a deal). Then a year later, I'll release Volume 2. And a year after that, it's Volume 3.

Then it's on to the next set of books, the 2nd generation of this family.

Oh, yes. I have big plans:

9 books for the 1st generation.
3 books for the 2nd generation.
3 books for the 3rd generation.

Maybe a bit ambitious (heck, I may die before I finish!) but I have goals.

Now to clear the decks and get working on Volume 2. I've set a goal of the end of the year for a good draft of all 3 books. I wrote 2 mysteries earlier this year, so that will keep my publisher happy while I work on the Dream books.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

How do I keep track of many characters, many of whom I will be writing about for their lifetimes (that is, I plan this as a multi-generational series).

A wiki, that's how. I set up a Wiki-Spaces wiki and on it I have all the information about my characters. I have links to pages, I have back story and history and pictures and maps ... it's glorious. It's at my fingertips. And I love it.

After I publish the books, I plan to make the Wiki public, so people can see how all the histories intertwine. For now, here's a look at the landing page for the Wiki. Do you see how there are links to information and a TOC on the side and ...

I have to tell you, this has made all the difference in the world to my writing. Now, right there, are all those scraps of papers that I used to collect to handle the information. It's all right at my fingertips.

Now to get back to the writing! I've been distracted by mysteries this summer, but now fall is around the corner, so I'll be heading back into Dream land.